Rev. 7's great multitude before the throne

[MorningGlory]

 

 

 

Rev. 7:9 NKJV After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands... 13 Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, “Who are these arrayed in white robes, and where did they come from?” 14 And I said to him, “Sir, you know.” So he said to me, “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 15 Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple. And He who sits on the throne will dwell among them."

 

1) Who are these people?

 

 

 

The answer is right there in your post:

 

“These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 15 Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple. And He who sits on the throne will dwell among them."

 

2) Why does this passage come after the 6th Seal, and before the 7th Seal?

 

 

 

No idea.

[rollinTHUNDER]

Rev. 7:9 NKJV After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands... 13 Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, “Who are these arrayed in white robes, and where did they come from?” 14 And I said to him, “Sir, you know.” So he said to me, “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 15 Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple. And He who sits on the throne will dwell among them."

 

1) Who are these people?

Great questions!

These are the righteous dead and Christ's faithful servants who will be ready when the Son of man appears. It's the resurrection/rapture.

2) Why does this passage come after the 6th Seal, and before the 7th Seal?

It's the next scene John sees in heaven. John did not say when they got there. They were already standing around the throne when he saw them. The resurrection/rapture has nothing to do with the seals, but it occurs before God's wrath. I believe they will arrive before the fifth seal is opened, as they are kept from the hour of trial, unlike the martyrs (lukewarm).

Cheers

[Watching for Jesus]

When the 5th seal was opened, John saw the souls of the martyrs who were killed by the antichrist during the 42 month war with the saints, under the altar in heaven.  The war with the saints is not over yet, there are still more to be martyred.

 

 

Revelation 6:9.  And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held:
 10.  And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?
 11.  And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.

 

 

The martyrs are given white robes and told to wait until the rest of the martyrs are killed.

 

 

Revelation 7:9.  After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;

 

 

The great multitude is all of the martyrs from the 42 month war with the saints and the great tribulation period.

 

John sees this great multitude again in Revelation, Chapter 15.

 

 

Revelation 15:2.  And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God.
 3.  And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints.
 4.  Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for thou only art holy: for all nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy judgments are made manifest.

Edited January 31, 2015 by Watching for Jesus

[rollinTHUNDER]

When the 5th seal was opened, John saw the souls of the martyrs who were killed by the antichrist during the 42 month war with the saints, under the altar in heaven.  The war with the saints is not over yet, there are still more to be martyred.

 

 

Revelation 6:9.  And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held:

 10.  And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?

 11.  And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.

 

 

The martyrs are given white robes and told to wait until the rest of the martyrs are killed.

 

 

Revelation 7:9.  After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;

 

 

The great multitude is all of the martyrs from the 42 month war with the saints and the great tribulation period.

 

John sees this great multitude again in Revelation, Chapter 15.

 

 

Revelation 15:2.  And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God.

 3.  And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints.

 4.  Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for thou only art holy: for all nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy judgments are made manifest.

I don't see anything in the 5th seal suggesting the martyrs will be killed for 42 months. The beast will be given authority and continue for 42 months, but I see nothing to indicate the 5th seal lasts for 42 months. We don't know when exactly they will force everyone to take the mark of the beast. But we do know it will be in the end, because God will not avenge their blood until all martyrs have been killed, but this does not tell us when the killing begins.

Cheers

[Watching for Jesus]

Hi, rollin THUNDER

 

I'm not saying that the 5th seal lasts for 42 months.  The war with the saints will last for 42 months.  At some point in that 42 month period the 5th seal will be opened.  Christians will start to be killed at some point during that 42 months.  All I'm saying is that the great multitude are those that will be killed during the 42 month war with the saints.

 

Jeff

[WilliamL]

When the 5th seal was opened, John saw the souls of the martyrs who were killed by the antichrist during the 42 month war with the saints, under the altar in heaven.  The war with the saints is not over yet, there are still more to be martyred.

 

 

Revelation 6:9.  And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held:

 10.  And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?

 11.  And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.

 

 

The martyrs are given white robes and told to wait until the rest of the martyrs are killed.

 

 

Revelation 7:9.  After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;

 

 

The great multitude is all of the martyrs from the 42 month war with the saints and the great tribulation period. ...

A common misconception. Notice that the martyrs of the 5th Seal are given white robes, whereas the great multitude have "washed their robes and made them white." Rev. 7:14 Big difference, unless you believe that the martyrs were given dirty white robes that still needed cleaning!

 

These two groups are entirely different people. rollinThunder has it right: the Rev. 7 saints

 

...are the righteous dead and Christ's faithful servants who will be ready when the Son of man appears. It's the resurrection/rapture.

 

Martyrdom for the name of Jesus is such a noble act that God accounts all of ones sins cleansed by the righteousness of the act. In contrast, "washing one's robes" indicates an active repentance from our sins; because robes/garments signify one's works:

 

Rev. 19:8 And to her [the Bride of Christ] it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.

[WilliamL]

2) Why does this passage come after the 6th Seal, and before the 7th Seal?

It's the next scene John sees in heaven. John did not say when they got there. They were already standing around the throne when he saw them. The resurrection/rapture has nothing to do with the seals, but it occurs before God's wrath. I believe they will arrive before the fifth seal is opened, as they are kept from the hour of trial, unlike the martyrs (lukewarm).

 

John does "say when they got there":

 

Rev. 7:14 "These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation..." 

 

Now, either this means that they came from the midst of the trib, or, they came through and thus out of the trib.

 

"The resurrection/rapture has nothing to do with the seals, but it occurs before God's wrath."

 

Disagree. Rev. 6:17 tells us,

 

“... the great day of His wrath came [and continues: aorist verb tense], and who is able to stand?”

 

This verse reveals that the wrath begins after the opening of the 6th Seal. So we can see that the Lord has already come for his Church by this time. Verse 16 tells us that the people of earth say,

 

“Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb!"

 

-- which means that they have seen them!

 

When does everyone see Jesus?

 

Rev. 1:7 Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will wail because of Him. Even so, Amen.

 

And this is what we see 6:16-17, after the 6th Seal is opened: the peoples of earth are wailing because they have seen the coming of Christ and have recognized him. They are wailing because they had reviled and rejected him, and are now greatly afraid of the consequences.

[Watching for Jesus]

Revelation 7:9.  After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;
 10.  And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.
 11.  And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God,
 12.  Saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen.

 13.  And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they?
 14.  And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

 

The great multitude have come out of great tribulation.

 

I see them as being the martyrs.

 

Jeff

[ghtan]

Hi all!

 

I agree with those above that think these are the raptured saints. It is significant that John seemed surprised to see them and did not recognise them. If they were of the same type of saints that he saw in Seal 5, i.e. martyred tribulation saints, he would not have claimed ignorance. (I don't think he was being modest.) I think this is the reason for including the short exchange with the elder. And they are mentioned between the 6th and 7th seal because it is at this point that the rapture takes place.

Edited February 2, 2015 by ghtan

[Last Daze]

 

A common misconception. Notice that the martyrs of the 5th Seal are given white robes, whereas the great multitude have "washed their robes and made them white." Rev. 7:14 Big difference, unless you believe that the martyrs were given dirty white robes that still needed cleaning!

 

These two groups are entirely different people. rollinThunder has it right: the Rev. 7 saints

 

 

...are the righteous dead and Christ's faithful servants who will be ready when the Son of man appears. It's the resurrection/rapture.

 

Martyrdom for the name of Jesus is such a noble act that God accounts all of ones sins cleansed by the righteousness of the act. In contrast, "washing one's robes" indicates an active repentance from our sins; because robes/garments signify one's works:

 

Rev. 19:8 And to her [the Bride of Christ] it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.

 

 

I'm not sure I'm following what you're saying here.  Those of the fifth seal are clearly martyrs.  Whether they are from the early stages of the great tribulation or from down through the centuries doesn't matter.  They are described as being slain for the word of God and the testimony they held.  We know the great tribulation will be a time of martyrdom.  This is where the Rev 7 group comes from.

 

I'm not sure why you're making a distinction between martyrs who were given a robe and martyrs who washed their robes.  They all held to the testimony of Jesus unto death.  Who is to say that the robes that were given to the martyrs weren't the ones they had previously washed by their being martyred?